Halliburton staff sacked 'for taking bribes'

Halliburton, the oil services company formerly run by the US vice-president, Dick Cheney, was yesterday embroiled in new accusations of corruption after it sacked two workers over allegations that they took kickbacks for awarding sub-contracts in Iraq.

The company disclosed that investigations were going on into whether two of its staff took up to $6m (£3.3m) from a Kuwaiti-based company providing support for US troops.

The revelation is likely to intensify the scrutiny of Halliburton, which has reaped huge contracts to rebuild Iraq and provide logistical support for the army. The total value of their contracts is more than $9bn, by far the largest sum handed out to a US firm in Iraq.

American Democrats have accused the Bush administration of cronyism in Iraq.

Halliburton is already facing allegations that it overcharged the US government for importing fuel to Iraq. The top defence department auditor last week asked the inspector general's office at the Pentagon to investigate whether the firm overcharged for petrol deliveries by more than $61m.

Halliburton gave no further details about the two executives who allegedly accepted kickbacks, or the company that allegedly paid the bribes. The workers were based in the Kuwaiti office that also handled the petrol contract.

The Kuwaiti firm overcharged by around $6m, and Halliburton said the two workers may have accepted improper payments as part of the over-billing.

A Halliburton spokeswoman stressed that the company had brought the bribery allegations to the attention of the Penta gon itself. "Halliburton internal auditors found the irregularity, which is a violation of our company's philosophy, policy and our code of ethics. We found it quickly, and we immediately reported it to the inspector general," she said. "We do not tolerate this kind of behaviour by anyone at any level in any Halliburton company."

If proven, the disclosures could expose the business to fraud charges or fines.

The Pentagon is also reported to have raised broader questions about Halliburton's financial controls and billing for work in Iraq.

The company's initial contract for rebuilding oil wells was secretly awarded to its Kellogg Brown & Root division without a competitive tender process, in March, before the invasion of Iraq.

Last week, the company won the $1.2bn contract to replace that original deal after a long- awaited tender process.

Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said the granting of further work to Halliburton while an investigation into overcharging was going on was "mindboggling".

Mr Cheney, who received a $33m severance package when he left Halliburton to run for office in 2000, defended the company in a radio interview this week. "They get unfairly maligned simply because of their past association with me," he said.

Halliburton is also facing corruption charges in Nigeria. A French judge has reportedly said Mr Cheney himself could be charged over allegations that Halliburton paid bribes of $180m to the Nigerian government to secure rights to build a gas plant. Halliburton has denied any wrongdoing.